Eyes
by kokoro77
Summary: In the year 2101 a nationwide epidemic forces 92 percent of the nation's population to succumb to blindness. Axel assumes it's all a joke...until he finds himself running into direct traffic to save a disoriented boy. -Three part one-shot-
1. Part One: Lens

**Author's Note: First, for old readers, I'm here to apologize-For my one year absence and my failure to contact people properly to let them know why I've been gone. There are a lot of reasons why I was gone from fanfiction and the top reason was that I started senior year and, because I wanted to get to college, I had to do well. So here I am, it's summer vacation, and now that I've graduated I feel strange, but accomplished. It's been a rough couple of years for me filled with emotional and physical stress, and I regret to say that during all of it I was too caught up in the emotions to turn to my creative muse for help.**

**I know that people have been PMing me and reviewing the stories still, and I very much appreciate the dedication and love that you have shown these past few months. It honestly brings a tear to my eye when I see that people are still reading my work and wanting to see more, so thank you. But I should also confess something: A lot of the work I currently have here I am not proud of. I realize that a lot of them pass off as cliche and silly, and the writing immature and novice, but at the same time I love them because I know that they were the kick starts to my writing career. So, that all said, I want to thank you all for sticking with my fail...and I'm back...if you'll have me. :3**

**SO. YES! Hello to readers old and new! Happy belated holidays of 2009 and New Years! I have here with me a new story that I worked on the last couple of weeks and I'll be uploading it over the next couple of days _in parts_. It's already completed, but I want to give people time to read and ABSORB the story. XD I'm hoping to break it up into two to three chapters, but we'll see how it goes. I promise that I will get to work on any of the stories I still have that are ongoing at the moment, so thank you for being patient.  
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**Disclaimer: Characters belong to Disney and Squareenix, respectively. ...But Nomura definitely needs to be clocked upside the head for all this suspense. B| Am I right or am I right?  
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Eyes || Part One  
"Lens"

Axel woke up one Saturday morning not to the usual sound of his alarm clock going off or the sound of an ambulance roaring down the street, but to the sound of glass shattering in the other room. He'd come to learn how to trust his senses rather well during times like this, which, really, was a good skill to have, but in hindsight was a touch depressing. After fluttering his eyes open, exposing them fully to the blinding whiteness of the ceiling above, he rubbed them and proceeded to kick the sheets away from his legs so that he could properly sit up and quickly walk out of the room and into the hallway.

It was hard now-a-days to be able to walk in a perfectly straight line if only because of the clutter that frequently adorned his floor. From papers to textbooks they laid stacked along the walls, albeit as neatly and out of the way as possible, thought that didn't mean he hadn't tripped a couple times here and there. With his vision still a bit blurry, the redhead carded a hand through his hair and stumbled toward the source of the sound that had woken him up.

Sure enough, the sound took him to the kitchen and there on the pristine, very _white_ floor were shards of glass, scattered in seemingly a million pieces at the feet of none other than Roxas—his roommate of three years. Blue eyes, very bright, very..._blue_, were plastered open and staring dead on ahead of him, directly at Axel, but Axel knew better. He knew that the other really couldn't see what he was looking at for sure. For all he knew Roxas could have thought he was the only one in the room, staring at nothing more than an unresponsive wall.

"You ok, Roxas?" the redhead asked, taking a few steps closer to the blonde who was still dressed in his sweatpants and loose fitting white t-shirt. Roxas jumped slightly at the voice and continued to stare unblinkingly at the spot ahead...before a comforted smile finally graced his lips. He was pressing his fingers into his left palm when he responded with a sheepish laugh,

"I cut myself."

Axel only sighed and surveyed the damage, surprised and thankful that this time the cut wasn't as terrible as it had been the last time this happened. "Doesn't look too bad," he commented, taking Roxas's wounded hand in his own so that he could turn it and examine the cut closer. There was a pause before he added, "Did you try to pick up the glass yourself?"

...Roxas simply lowered his head.

"That's what I thought."

"I was pretty sure I could do it this time, though," Roxas said, letting Axel press down on his wrist.

"Can you feel that?"

Roxas nodded gently. "Yeah."

"Good. Wound's probably not deep. Here, let's sit you down first and I'll patch it up." After saying it, the redhead carefully took Roxas's unwounded hand, stepped out beside him, and proceeded to guide him around the broken glass and over to the kitchen table where he seated him on one of the wooden chairs. The room was cold and walking barefoot on a tiled floor might not have been the smartest thing to do for either of them, but there were some things that Axel had to learn to sacrifice for the sake of this blonde kid. Many a time he'd sit in bed wondering just what the hell he was getting himself into and if he could very well be digging a grave for himself. Sometimes he wondered what had happened to him as a kid to grow up into someone like this. Someone taking care of a complete stranger and welcoming him into his apartment like it was no big deal.

Turning the heater off at night was one of the biggest sacrifices. He had to save money for Roxas's sake even if it meant stocking up on more blankets and huddling beneath them during the harshest of Seattle's winters. Axel was sure that it would snow soon...just because he could sense it, that skill he'd developed over the last few years of this epidemic. His skin would prickle and in turn his mind would tell the rest of his body not to go outside if he wanted to live.

Thinking it, Axel rested the blonde's hands in his lap, palms facing upward, before heading back towards the hallway bathroom for the medical kit he had stored beneath the skin. He returned shortly after and effortlessly, like he'd done this a million times, which he must have by now, dabbed wetted cotton on Roxas's cut to sterilize it before wrapping it in a white gauze bandage.

The blonde barely winced at the treatment and just shut his eyes, the soft smile ever-present on his face. "The first time you did this I thought you were crazy."

Axel scoffed. "Yeah, I remember that."

"...Could've infected yourself."

"I know."

There was another pause before Roxas added, a bit solemn, "You do too much for me, you know that?"

The statement, just the very way Roxas said it even though he'd probably said it a thousand times, caused the redhead to pause in securing the bandage around the blonde's palm and stare down at the floor, thin lips pursed in mild annoyance. In his mind there was no such thing as "too much" he could do for Roxas. The moment he met this kid he felt a connection to him, like he was _responsible_ for him, and from that moment on Axel made the decision to do whatever it took to keep Roxas out of harm's way. He'd do it all on his own. ...Well, not _entirely_—Reno was helping him some months on the sidelines—but the bulk of the work came from himself.

He sighed again, patted Roxas's palm before turning it over toward the ground again, and stood up from his kneeling position. "I gotta get to work," he muttered, turning his back on the younger so he could quickly grab something from the fridge. Roxas sat up straighter in the chair and, still with eyes shut, started to feel the strange texture of the bandage with his right hand.

"I'll stay put here," he responded with a chuckle and Axel couldn't help but return it.

"Yeah, and if you don't I'll kick your ass, man."

Roxas didn't respond to that and simply sat perfectly still on the chair...while the world around him passed by. In the distance he picked up sounds of the wind rustling through the trees and the hum of electricity running through the apartment walls. A few minutes later he heard the tinkling of glass—Axel was probably sweeping the mess up like he'd done a few times before. Into a dust pan, maybe, or straight into his hand, before he would take five paces and toss them into the garbage can.

All these things Roxas memorized...because without his eyes, well, relying on everything else to map his life for him became essential.

The running of water a few minutes later indicated that Axel was in the bathroom. Brushing his teeth, most likely, and then later flushing the toilet. The paces echoed down the hall—the pitter patter of naked feet scuffling toward the bedroom once again—and then the faint rustle of clothing accompanied the sounds. He was getting dressed. The material sounded...light. Papery. They wouldn't be anything else, of course, so Roxas had to smile at his own foolishness.

At last the jingle of metal rang in his ears and the blonde turned in his chair toward it, feeling a warm arm clap his shoulder as soon as he did. He knew Axel would be standing there.

"All right, lemme just take care of the other stuff and I'm out, 'kay?"

Roxas hummed in response and let Axel scuffle through the apartment a second time, this time bringing a whole barrage of noises which consisted of plugs being pulled, buttons being pressed, cupboards being opened and shut, and doors locked. Suddenly the room was quiet. The hum of electricity had vanished. There was one last thing that needed to be done and that involved a little work on the blonde's part.

"All right, Rox, up you get." And with that Roxas pushed up from his chair, Axel's hands on his wrist and arm to guide him, and he walked slowly toward the bedroom, fingers occasionally brushing up against the padded walls and door frames as he passed them. Finally he could feel the plush of the bed beneath his body and the familiar touch of a sheep wool blanket being tossed over his shoulders. ...He smiled again and finally opened his eyes.

...Axel always thought his eyes were so beautiful.

"See ya soon, Roxas."

"Six o'clock like always," Roxas said as he felt the warm presence drift away from him and the bedroom door shut with nothing more than a soft puff of air...and the tender music of jazz and pianos playing at the bedside stereo.

_Are the stars out tonight? I don't know if it's cloudy or bright, 'cause I only have eyes...for you_.

xxXXxx

In the year 2101 the nationwide epidemic known to most people simply as "the blindness" spread across the nation, targeting no specific age, gender, race, or species. Highly contagious and threatening, the disease would attack at any time of day, often disguising itself as the common cold or flu before the victim would eventually lose sight completely within a matter of seconds. As a result many untimely deaths occurred, mostly from car accidents either with people losing sight while driving or being struck while blindly wandering into oncoming traffic. Out of the ninety two percent infected, thirty percent died within the first few months of the disease's initial spread.

The remaining eight percent were and remain immune to the disease and have since been forced by government to replace many medical professionals who were disabled—to do simple tasks such as give injections, feed, clean, and dress sick patients. With most guide dogs out of commission and diseased themselves, the eight took their place. Certain material learned over the duration of a six year college course had to be compacted and understandable for a week-long class containing five hundred to one thousand people. When hospitals filled up, malls and stadiums became facilities for the diseased but even then care wasn't guaranteed for every person.

...Three years ago Axel was 25.

...Three years ago he became a part of the eight percent.

xxXXxx

"You should've seen the way you walked, man!"

Axel shoved his brother in the side with elbow and walked on in as best of a straight line as he could muster after about four and a half beers. Reno just sputtered and shoved back with less effort and strength, but it was still enough to cause his brother to sway off course and hop down onto the street with a thud. Axel scoffed while he stepped back onto the sidewalk and back into step with the other.

"Ah, but it's good to get out and have a little fun like that once in a while, huh?"

"We're probably risking a lot, you know," Axel commented, intertwining his fingers behind his head. Reno turned and pocketed his hands.

"Yeah? How d'you figure?"

"Didn't you hear about the sickness getting around the country right now? Worse than swine flu was, apparently, over some hundred years ago."

Reno snorted and glanced up briefly at the sky. "Nah, we're fine, Axel. Good set of healthy bodies, you and me!" As he said he the other redhead proudly stuck out his chest and pounded a fist against it, though he ended up bowing into himself slightly when he realized it had hurt. Axel chuckled and only shrugged while they continued walking—or maybe swerving—down the street and back to Reno's apartment. Axel's was just across the street from his brother's, but every so often they'd sleep over at each other's places just for kicks.

They were still family, after all, and the family motto was something cliché like... "Love thy neighbor as yourself," or whatever. No, no, it was "Always lend a helping hand." So the two of them, having had that drilled into their brains by their father starting at just the age of one month, figured that when they grew up they'd stick by each other through thick and thin and try to support each other in any way they could.

Neither of them had any idea that they would need to put that motto to good use tonight.

It started with a scream. It wasn't a very loud scream, but it was loud enough to catch both their attention. Whoever it was came from nearby and they sounded like they were yelling "No" between screams. Young, probably, so it was hard to tell if it was a man or a woman just yet, but regardless of gender or their ability to touch their finger to their nose, Axel and Reno looked at one another and then took off running down the sidewalk toward the sound.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, look," Reno exclaimed, thrusting a finger up ahead to where he spotted the silhouette of someone stumbling aimlessly through the dark. They were walking in circles, messy circles, pacing back and forth and yelling out in frustration and sadness every time they so much as touched a parked car or tripped slightly over a crack in the sidewalk.

"No, no, no, this can't be happening!" they screamed in between sobs.

Axel ran ahead with Reno a few paces behind and tried his best to grab the individual by an arm. "Hey. Hey, buddy, you all right?" he asked to which the boy screamed even louder, panicked, and wriggled free.

"Don't touch me!" And with that he took off running to Axel's left...right into traffic. Horns began to blare and tires screeched. Cars going at fourty miles an hour swerved to the best of their ability to avoid the frantic boy, but Roxas didn't reach the other side of the street and out of their way just yet. No, the blonde kid had to keep running around in circles, arms flailing at his sides and in front of him, face glistening with tears and legs shaking. He probably knew he was in the midst of traffic and could be hit at any time, but he didn't look like he knew how to get himself out of it.

"Hey!" Reno yelled out to the boy and took off running even at the risk of being struck himself. Axel followed but stepped back when a pickup truck honked and sped past, obscuring his vision of where Reno and the blonde were. Craning his neck he tried to get a good look and the most he saw was a flash of red and yellow before finally he saw his brother on the other sidewalk, laying down on the ground with the young boy curled into a ball beside him.

"Reno! Reno, is he ok? What's wrong with 'im?"

The other redhead looked up and hastily waved his hand over to signal for Axel to follow. He did eventually once the cars had slowed and though his head was throbbing he knelt down on the stranger's other side and carefully placed a hand on his shoulder to shake it. The blonde's face was soaked with sweat and tears and he was hiding his face in his hands.

"Yo, dude, what's wrong? Can you look up for a sec?"

"I-I can't!" the boy exclaimed, voice cracking.

"Hey, do you have a name?" Reno asked and tried to pull the guy's hands away but they stayed planted where they were.

"No, no, this can't be happening! You don't get it!"

Axel tried to get him to turn over onto his back. "Get what?"

Then, in a raw, frightening wail, "_I can't see!_"

...Reno was the first to get it and as he immediately swore under his breath he got up from the ground to dig through his pocket for a cell phone. "Fuck, Axel, we touched the guy."

"What?" his brother hissed, not getting up while he turned to look up at Reno. "What're you talking about?"

"That sickness, Axel, the one you were talking about. This guy caught it _just now_. I'm callin' the hospital, man, this is..._bullshit_. Yes, hello, yeah we're gonna need someone over here at the corner of—"

While Reno gave the address to the operator on the other line, Axel could only stare dumbfounded at the person on the ground. He was visibly shaking and he looked so...broken. Axel had never seen someone infected before, at least not right when it started, so for once he was at a total loss for words. What would it be like to lose your sight in a split second? One moment someone could be riding their bike, drawing a picture, or simply walking down the street after a night of drinking like he and Reno had been doing...and suddenly everything can become _nothing_.

A lump formed in the redhead's throat just imagining it and realizing that this guy must have been your average Joe up until a few minutes ago. His life would probably never be the same.

"...Kid, kid," he said gently, patting the blonde a few times on the shoulder to catch his attention. He was still unstable and shocked, but eventually Axel managed to get him quiet enough so he could talk. "Listen. My name's Axel."

"...A-Ax—Axel?" the kid stammered after a cough.

"Yeah."

Then, once he could hear ambulance sirens pulling up in the distance, "I'm gonna help you."

xxXXxx

Every day before Axel left the apartment for work he would do a list of things and on his walk down the block he would go over said list of things to make absolutely sure he'd checked them all off.

Unplug all electronics except for the radio and the small refrigerator in the bedroom.

Check supply of food in small refrigerator.

Turn on the heater.

Safely lock all cupboards and store all sharp utensils and glass.

Lock all doors except for the bathroom and bedroom door.

Lock all the windows and pull the curtains shut.

Say goodbye to Roxas.

He smiled a bit to himself when he checked everything off his little list and crossed the street once the light on the other end turned into a walking man. There...wasn't really a reason for him to wait—there were no cars on the road for him to wait for. No, every Wednesday to Saturday it would just be Axel and the walking man across the street to tell him when to stop and when to go. Sometimes there would be another person crossing the street with him and sometimes they would exchange in simple conversation, but once they would both enter the hospital across the street all talk was nothing and it was down to business.

Maybe that was why he liked to wait across the street for the walking man to tell him when to go; he wanted that last taste of reality before he would have to go through hell in the other building. He could already smell the alcohol, feel it burning his eyes with every new bottle opened, and hear the wailing of newcomers when they had to be sedated if they were too rowdy upon arrival. It was the most terrifying sound in the world to him, but he'd learned how to accept it.

"See ya," he told the walking man as he passed him and entered the hospital grounds, past the empty, dusty fountain, the dead flowers, and soon the many white tents pitched outside the entrance. Dressed in his light blue scrubs and sneakers he blended right in with the groups of nurses and doctors bustling to and fro, in and out of tents with clipboards and other utensils in their hands.

"Good morning," a gruff and muffled voice greeted him to which Axel saluted with two fingers. "You're here earlier than usual today, Axel," the man said while he proceeded to give the redhead a quick pat down for security reasons.

Axel just did what he was supposed to do as if it was second nature by now and chuckled. "Yeah, the roommate woke me up again."

"How's he doin'? You taking care of him all right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just cut himself on a piece of glass this morning and that's what woke me up."

"Oh, so you mean you didn't decide to be an early riser and jump right into gear, huh?" The man laughed from behind his white quarantine suit and gave Axel a quick pat on the back to signal that he was through. "All right, you're clean."

"As always."

"Hey, it's just my job, man. I trust ya, but I still gotta do it. Times are rough these days."

Axel just nodded and walked through the white tent where a series of station were set up beneath. These tents were reserved for what people called "the eight"; the lucky group of people who were immune and had to go to and from the hospital so many times a week and do their job. Of the eight that worked at the hospital were Axel and Reno but Reno's shift was always at night. When Axel would leave, Reno would start, and so on and so forth. It wasn't the life they chose...but it was the life they had to accept.

After undergoing radiation tests, several scans, and a quick shower, he was free to put the scrubs back on and head on through the double doors...and into the sound of what he hated most.

xxXXxx

At least five doctors and a whole team of nurses charged through the doors and hallways of the emergency ward, leaving Axel and Reno to stay bewildered and windswept in the hospital lobby, laying down on wheeled stretchers. They had to be brought in a separate ambulance from Roxas because the officials claimed they could have been infected. Both were injected with IVs and their heart rates were tested. Swabs and other sorts of things he couldn't even comprehend with were done over the span of that five minute drive and by the time they arrived they felt as if they were thrown out onto the pavement and shoved into the farthest corner of the lobby...to wait.

Just wait.

"This sucks," Reno whined, throwing his head back to stare up at the ceiling and later complained about how much the IV hurt in his hand.

Axel groaned and did the same. "I'm worried about that kid, man."

"Yeah, but now we should worry about ourselves. What if we end up getting sick 'cause of this?"

To that the other redhead said nothing and ended up shutting his eyes, wondering if when he would open them next his vision would indeed be gone and that would be that. Nothing would be forgiving; the sickness would just take him. But when he fluttered his eyes open and he could see the peppered ceiling above he heaved a sigh of relief. ...Maybe it would happen later, though.

xxXXxx

"Hey, Dem—holy shit, what the hell happened to your eye?" Axel asked once he approached a computer desk far into the emergency ward. Demyx, a blonde male of 24, looked up from a file he was writing on to reveal a little more of the gauze bandage wrapped around his right eye. He smiled and waved a hand.

"Ah. Just kinda got into a little scrape with one of the patients," he said, shrugging. "One of their visitors brought 'em soda in a glass bottle and when I came in to give her the weekly shot she took a swing at me with the thing and split the skin a little right down the corner of my eye." Axel formed his lips into an 'ooo' to which Demyx mouthed back, 'Yeah.'

"It's ok, though, I guess. I can still see and everything. It just feels bruised."

"Yeah, and we know that the first mentioning of you not being able to see would put this whole staff in a frenzy." Axel had to say it under his breath to make sure no one else would hear and Demyx just chuckled lightly and went back to checking names and vaccinations off his list. He and Axel were always in charge of one specific wing of the emergency ward, but of course other nurses would come in time to time to help with the rounds.

After a couple hours passed and day gradually turned into noon Demyx came back from his trip of fluffing pillows to slump into the wheelie chair beside Axel who was going down a checklist of his own.

"Phew. You come here to work four times a week and go back home to take care of a patient of your own. Huh. Dunno how you do it, man," the guy said after yawning quite loudly. Axel scoffed.

"Gotta thank dad for implementing the do-gooder gene in me, I guess," he replied, not looking up from his paper.

Demyx fiddled with the mouse on the desk. "How are your folks, by the way?"

"Ah, still huddled up in San Francisco, I imagine. They're not letting anyone in or out of that city since the scare three years ago. It's like wartime down there." Thinking it, Axel rubbed at his forehead with one hand and placed the pen he was writing with down on the pad of paper. He hated thinking about how hard it must have been for other people who weren't infected and who couldn't just walk around like him or Demyx. His parents, for example, were locked up in their own home in a small pocket of a neighborhood that had been immune.

He hadn't heard from them in two years and while the noise around the hospital always brought some twinge of fear, silence, he learned, was even more frightening.

Every day someone would die of this epidemic and every day there would be more silence because of those people who would cease to speak and scream. Axel had seen patients go crazy in bed after waking up unable to see and sometimes the panic would be so severe that they would fall into silence for seemingly forever. They wouldn't die, no, but they would commit themselves to saying nothing out of trauma and depression.

It was a fucking disgusting life they had now, but, as he and Reno always told themselves, they had to accept it.

"And Roxas?" Demyx added after taking a sip of his Red Bull. "Still got those piercing blue eyes of his? Haha."

Axel smiled...and that was his only response.

xxXXxx

The two of them had been released from the nurses once their results came back negative for the disease. It took a while, a full day at most with the blood test going, but finally after waiting for so long they had their answer...and a very shocking one at that.

The doctors told them that they were both completely immune to the sickness. Some strand of their DNA prevented it from attacking. Both brothers speechless and ecstatic at the same time could only stare at one another while the doctor congratulated them...and then shuffled out of the room in a hurry. They didn't care if the congratulations were genuine or not; all they cared about was them being...ok. It was amazing.

They were ok! ...But— "Oh, hey, hold up!" Axel called out to which one of the nurses that was about to leave the room stopped and turned back.

"Yes?" she asked.

"The kid we brought in. How's he doing?"

She flipped through her clipboard a few times before looking back up at him. "He's down the hall from here and undergoing intensive care at the moment. We'll keep you updated on his status." That said she slipped out of the room once more, her sneakers squeaking against the linoleum as she did so.

It wasn't until the next morning when they were successfully unhooked from all the machines and gadgets that they were allowed to walk past the blonde's room and peek in through the window. The room was dimmed with nothing more than the sound of beeping filling the silence, and as Axel watched one of the nurses inside carefully pry one of the kid's eyes open...he was shocked to see such a vivid, _alive_ hue strike through the darkness. The nurse herself seemed a bit alarmed at this discovery but he judged that it wasn't terrible because she only laughed and gently touched his forehead to whisper something to him.

"He has very blue eyes," someone told him from the side and when both redheads turned they saw a doctor ready to enter the boy's room. "It isn't normal for them to keep the eye color. Film would have developed over his corneas by now."

...Axel smiled at that. It was like a spark of light in all this darkness, hearing that. "Can I ask his name?"

"Roxas," the doctor replied while adjusting the stethoscope around his neck. "I need to check up on him, but...please know that you two did a very brave thing today. And you're both very lucky. I'm sure he would, ah, tell you the same." With nothing more than a nod and a smile to both, the man ducked into the room and that was that.

"Hang in there, little man," Reno said while patting the glass of the window and Axel—He cried.

Why couldn't Roxas be like him on the other side of the glass? It didn't seem...fair.

xxXXxx

There was a patient at the hospital who didn't reside—yes, reside—in the emergency ward, but rather on the upper floor in a smaller room pushed in the corner. She shared it with one other person, but they were often unresponsive and silent. And while it wasn't Axel's responsibility to take care of her or even lift a finger for her, he still took it upon himself to visit her at least once during his shift, usually a few minutes before he would need to go home.

After taking the elevator up a few stories, Axel stepped out into the crowded hallways filled with familiar faces of people he'd taken care of before...and even had known before the blindness appeared. Here and there faces were turned toward walls and ceilings, other people and floors, trying to find answers to so many questions, but because their sight was taken, well, their answers remained a mystery. Axel wondered what they all would question. Perhaps the usual: "Why did this happen to me?" or "When will this be over?" They were all possibilities, but he was too preoccupied with other work to ever ask

Swerving down the hallway, avoiding beds around corners or patients who would unknowingly walk in his path, Axel continued on until he came to the end of one hallway where her room was. As usual things were quiet on this side; she never made a lot of noise, but what he found admirable was that she still chose to speak. He slowly and carefully opened the door after knocking a couple of times and after setting foot into the room there he saw the petite, frail, and beautiful young blonde woman sitting up on a chair, her attention directed towards the window on the wall opposite where he was currently standing.

It was such a simple and sad scene because Namine, though she had that window—that perfect outlet—she would never see the world again.

With a slight smile the redhead sauntered up to the girl and placed both hands on the window sill to look out with her, watching the sun begin to set over the frozen and desolate city. Her eyes, like most, where milky and pale, much like the winter outside, but beneath that ghostly gaze he could still catch the flecks of blue that so reminded him of her brother.

Namine smiled when she felt a warmer presence enter the room and reached a delicate hand out. Axel took it and squeezed her fingers, feeling how cold they were in contrast to his own.

"How are you?" she asked, turning to face him. Axel shrugged.

"Same as ever, I guess. Still working, still breathing."

The girl giggled and placed her other hand atop his and shut her eyes. "Mm. It's hard. I've been listening to the news and people keep saying how much of the eight are so stressed with their lives." A tiny frown pulled at the corners at her lips when she said it. "But at least you're ok."

Axel squeezed her fingers again. He would have nodded, but knowing that she wouldn't see it, he had to choose this option instead. "Yeah. Roxas tells me the same thing. That kid listens to the news all the time." He chuckled and Namine couldn't help but do the same.

"...We're really alike."

"That's because you're related, of course. Heh." Axel paused and started again. "He just told me before I left that I _do too much for him_. Same fare, day in and day out with that kid."

Namine sighed and glanced toward the window again in thought. "He respects you deeply," she began, "and he probably feels strange even after three years of you being beside him through everything." Axel squeezed the girl's hand again, lighter than the first few times as if he was unsure.

"I would've taken you in, too, if Roxas wasn't so stubborn."

She giggled again. "Like I said: he respects you. He only wants the burden to be lighter."

The redhead scoffed and with his free hand he ruffled up Namine's hair a bit. "A little thing like you would hardly be a burden, y'know."

But it was never worth it to argue with a girl like Namine, because he just didn't have the heart to do so. He knew that she didn't like being trapped in that suffocating place with nothing more than a window as her connection to the outside world, but he also knew that she, just like Roxas, was stubborn, and that she thought being in the hospital would be a better and fair setting for everyone. The girl was a year younger than her brother and was the first to come down with the blindness in her family. The doctors hypothesized that Roxas had caught the disease when he had gone to visit her some weeks before the night his vision left.

...But Roxas would never blame her.

Axel left Namine's room no more than fifteen minutes later, leaving her to sit in solemn silence under the faint, cold light of the sun, and as he took the elevator back down to the main floor...he couldn't help but regret not staying with her longer. He always felt that way on the trip back down...even knowing that there was no way to change the course of this life. He thought, as the doors opened and he headed back towards the hospital entrance, of how precious life was to millions of people and yet how, from the shadows, life would suddenly turn on people and destroy them from the inside out. It made promises of fortune and fame, health and prosperity; it was treasured and held in such high regard for years...but as he took a final glance at the sleeping and downtrodden bodies behind him, he knew that life, to them, was now death.

xxXXxx

As like every day they had shifts, Axel passed Reno on the crosswalk and held out his hand for a high five once they crossed paths. The sky was darkening and the world was falling colder by the second—their breaths were coming out in puffs of smoke—and in their scrubs it wasn't certainly the best of times. Axel swore he could hear his brother's teeth chattering from across the street.

"Freezing my fucking balls off out here, Axel, I swear," Reno called out to him which earned him a sputtered laugh in response. "Once this all clears up, we're movin' out to Pomona!"

"Then you better get your ass in that building and get some work done. That'll warm you up, right?"

Reno just rolled his eyes and waved his brother off before turning his back and jogging up to undergo that same old procedure Axel had to undergo that morning. Hm. 'Once this all clears up,' huh. Axel chuckled and shook his head. Though he highly doubted that this disease would "clear up" any time soon, the prospect of living somewhere warm...brought a sudden ease to his heart. He'd often think about living life normally again, but all it would take was a sound of a siren or harsh wind nipping at the back of his neck to snap him back to reality.

Back at the apartment he shuffled through his pocket for the key, unlocked the door, and once he was inside the darkness he flicked the lights on to reveal the same old mess littered on the floor in his...unique, organized way of littering and the same old padded walls he'd installed himself, again, for Roxas's sake.

"Yo, Roxas, I'm home!" he called out, shutting the door behind him and turning the two locks and inserting the deadbolt. He also checked the crack under the door to make sure that the piece of wood he'd drilled in there was still secure and with that done he sighed heavily and made way down the hall towards the bedroom. Like always he could hear music playing on the other end and it brought a flicker of happiness to his face amongst the tired creases.

Emboldened by the image of Roxas just sitting there, motionless and smiling, possibly swaying like he did at times to the music, Axel pushed the door open and sure enough there was the kid, sitting on the end of the bed, facing where the headboard would be...and smiling to himself while the guitars and pianos played in perfect harmony together over that black radio sitting on the side table.

Axel's bed wasn't really a bed anymore, but instead it was a mattress—he wanted to make sure that Roxas wouldn't tumble out of bed at night or if he had to get up to go to the bathroom, so he'd taken the frame apart and stored it away in the living room. The once clean carpet was dotted with stains of various things, mostly juice that Roxas had spilled over the years when he tried to walk with his cup. But, for the most part, it was the cleanest room in the entire apartment, and Axel sort of had Roxas to thank for that. While he was at work Roxas would sometimes walk around and start to test his senses by picked things up he thought didn't belong and store them where they should have. He'd come home to a few paper clips on the kitchen table and a rubber duck on the bookshelf, but at least the kid was trying.

Tonight there were no things out of place—Just Roxas, the music, and the room all together and all painting a soothing picture for Axel. The blonde turned his head, eyes shut, toward the doorway and gave a little wave.

"Hey. I knew it was you."

Axel laughed and shut the door behind him before flopping down on the bed on his back. "Oh, yeah, how do you know?"

Roxas playfully chuckled and felt around on the mattress until his fingertips touched Axel's shoulder. From there he formed one hand into a fist and punched him. "I always know. Right around six o'clock you come back home, tell me you're home, and fix the three locks on the door."

"Reno does the same thing, though."

The boy shook his head. "No, he forgets the deadbolt."

"That jackass." The two of them laughed at that and soon Axel pushed off the mattress so that he could walk over to the closet and take out his pajamas. "So, Rox, thinkin' you need a shower?"

"I already took one."

...Axel turned around and furrowed his brows at the kid. As if expecting the answer, Roxas looked over his shoulder and interrupted what the redhead was probably about to say.

"Look, I held the safety bar the _whole_ time and I _promise_ I didn't hurt myself."

"Yeah, but you still gotta tell me before you go doin' that, Roxas."

"I didn't know I wanted to until you left."

Axel clicked his tongue and started to pull the top of his outfit off. "Smart ass."

Roxas shifted on the mattress and said nothing, but Axel guessed that the guy was most likely reveling in his success at taking a shower all by himself. Roxas may have been blind, but the kid's personality wasn't that much of a stretch different from how it was when they first moved in together. ...He could still picture that day exactly. About four months after he and Reno had taken Roxas to the hospital, they had been shortly contacted by the government with orders to attend classes for medical study and to afterward immediately answer a call of duty. Naturally they were hesitant and refused, but in the end complied since it was...ordered and all.

Axel was assigned for the mornings and afternoons and Reno was assigned for the evenings and early mornings. And on the first week of work, stressed and aggravated...Axel came across Roxas sitting on the floor in a hallway, his knees pulled into his chest and his chin resting on his folded arms. Those blue eyes of his were so distant and forlorn. He had tried to get the kid to go back to his room but he insisted that he wanted fresh air and wanted more space. ...He wanted freedom. It wasn't until two weeks later that he made up his mind to grant the kid that wish and take him out to live with.

Granted, the process wasn't easy. There were still healthy people living out in the city and though scarce, taking an infected person out there would potentially endanger them. Days upon days of convincing passed before finally the hospital management agreed to keep Roxas under Axel's care so long as Roxas would undergo heavy antibiotics for the next few days before taking his leave.

...And once that was over and Roxas's skin felt the sun beating down on his arms, on his face and hands...he fell to his knees on the ground and it took all of Axel's strength to pick him back up and guide him safely home. He asked why he was crying but all Roxas could manage were broken sentences. He wanted to do more than feel, he'd said, and he wanted to know where he was standing. It felt terrible knowing that he couldn't grant the other the first wish, but at least he could give him the rest of his answers.

_You're walking beside me_. _We're crossing the street and there are some puddles on the ground from when it rained last night. Up ahead there's a stop sign and two birds sitting atop it. Maybe you can hear them if you tried to..._

Roxas wanted more than to hear and to touch...but he had to trust Axel now. He might not have known what he looked like, but...he had to put himself in his hands.

It was strange having to sleep with one other person in the same bed as him, and admittedly Axel considered on many nights to go to the living room to sleep on the couch. But that _worry_, that _fear_ of something bad happening while he was gone kept him at Roxas's side from dusk to dawn, day in day out...for three straight years. He felt so responsible for that kid...and while he looked at him now, preparing himself for bed by feeling for his pillow and blanket, Axel realized that that feeling had never once died out.

If anything it had grown.

Once in his black sweatpants, the redhead stretched and climbed into the bed with Roxas, of course not before walking over to shut off the heater. Four extra blankets had to be piled on with them just for that, but Roxas never complained. He just snuggled without a word when his companion would pull the blankets over them and he would always wait, just wait, for those beautiful cerulean eyes to close and his body to fade into sleep before he would shortly follow. In a way it was like being a parent...but Axel had to admit that the burning in his chest every time he saw those eyes and heard that laugh...meant that it was a much deeper bond than that.

xxXXxx

Six months later Roxas broke another glass...but not because it had slipped from his fingers from stumbling about in the apartment.

...It was because Axel had told him that Namine had woken up able to see.

"...What?" he asked, voice a mix of surprise, elation, and sadness. _If she could see, then would he be able to see_? Axel smirked, ignoring the broken pieces of glass, and placed a hand on Roxas's shoulder. Reno, who was in the living room at the time cleaning a few boxes out, answered for him.

"Yeah. Woke up during my shift and the first thing she saw was the snow outside. You should've been there, Roxas."

"I want to." The blonde held his hand out and touched Axel's shoulder. "Can I go?" Axel immediately shook his head.

"That place is still under quarantine. You could still get sick."

"You mean I'm not already?"

Axel pursed his lips and sighed heavily. "It's different. You could get worse."

"And what about Namine? Is she still there?"

Reno appeared around the corner just then and leaned up against the door frame. "Not in the same room. She was moved."

Roxas turned to face him. "Where?"

"She's still in the hospital, but they moved her to a higher floor."

"Well, if it's dangerous, they gotta get her outta there, right?" Roxas turned back to Axel and then back to Reno, eyes blazing with excitement and question. "Right?"

"Roxas," Axel began, giving his shoulder a squeeze, "take it easy. We'll find out more about her when I go back to work tomorrow."

"You have to make sure she can see."

"What, you don't trust my word?" Reno laughed but Roxas took it seriously.

"No, no, I do, it's just—I'm just—"

Axel ruffled up the guy's hair a bit, playful. "I know you're nervous, but _relax_. I'll find out more tomorrow and tell you first thing when I get home."

Roxas barely slept that night...but miraculously Axel was able to even with the radio turned on and that same old jazz CD playing on the bedside table.

_Millions of people go by, but they all disappear from view...and I only have eyes for you._

xxXXxx

After work no cups were broken, no glass was left to pick up; no faucets were left dripping and no radios were playing. Everything was silent...and everything was cold. When Axel returned home that night to an expectant face and a boy getting up from the kitchen table for the news...he couldn't give it to him.

"...Just like that?" Roxas asked, huddled up beside Axel on the couch in the living room, a few blankets thrown and wrapped about them even though the heater was still on. Axel didn't feel like leaving Roxas at the moment to switch it off. Right now...Roxas needed him.

He nodded. "Yeah. She's back to square one."

There was a pause. "Was she sad?"

This time Axel shook his head. "No. She took it all in stride. The doctors were all driven up the wall, though. Hm. Boy, you're lucky you're not there."

"So why'd she go back to being blind?"

The redhead shrugged and pulled Roxas's body closer against him with one arm. "Don't know. We thought we had something, though."

"...Me too."

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**(Nammmmmeeeeeers.) Part Two should be coming up later on in the day, I promise. WELL. I was walking around the house one day without my contacts in, which left me LEGALLY BLIND GODDAMMIT, so I was partially inspired by me stubbing my toes and blindly searching for shit to write this story. Now, before the creativity wore out I HAD to write it down and before I knew it within the span of four hours I had almost twenty pages written out.**

**Imagine. That. B|**

**So, guys, that was part one! I hope you liked it! Review if you so wish~ ...Aw, what the hell: CAN I GET A "WHOOP WHOOP" FOR FUCKING SUMMER AND COLLEGE OVER HERE?**

**_who brought the beer?,  
kokoro77_**


	2. Part Two: Iris

**Author's Note: OTL I apologize that this chapter is short, but it _is_ a short fic and I want it to remain that way.;; I cut this story up a bit...obscurely, but hopefully that won't be too distracting. Having said that, here's part two with part three to follow promptly~  
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Eyes || Part Two  
"Iris"

"Axel," Roxas began when Axel returned home one Friday night. The redhead was exhausted as always and was half awake when he heard the voice piping up behind him. Ever since the incident with Namine, the whole workload felt ten times harder. Everyone was determined to find out the reason behind her being able to see.

"Hm?" he hummed, taking off his scrubs and digging through the closet for a clean pair of sweats to change into. Roxas was silent for a while and while the redhead's back was turned he busied himself by reaching over to the nightstand and picking up the tape recorder Axel would leave for him should he feel the need to record important pieces of news that would pop up while he was gone. So far Roxas hadn't found anything too interesting to record—maybe a few new hits on the charts about how times were tough and love was strong—but today...something drew him in.

"I want you to hear this real quick."

Axel, as he pulled his pants up, glanced over his shoulder to see that the blonde was holding the tape recorder in his hand and his thumb was brushing idly over the ridged surface of the play button. "Yeah? Another song you picked up?"

Roxas shook his head. "No." Then the tape began.

"_My fellow Americans...I stand before you today to inform you that when I awoke this morning...I was blind_."

...Axel froze. Shutter clicks and mutters were peppered into the audio and the president didn't speak for a very long time. Questions, so many questions, people sobbing, women screaming, chairs being pushed and pulled and feet scurrying here and there—

He was in disbelief. "What?"

Roxas brought his thumb back to the stop button and pressed it. That was really all Axel had to hear. "It's true. The President's just like the rest of us now."

"...But he was held under quarantine. Protected and everything." The redhead stared at the tape recorder, jaw dropped, and when he could no longer find words to say he slowly sat himself down on the edge of the bed and let out a heavy but quick sigh. "...Everything's just coming apart."

"It's...interesting, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

"I mean...the ruler of the country and probably the strongest man in the world lost his vision. And suddenly it's like the rest of the world follows after him."

Axel stayed silent and stared down at the floor between his legs, unsure of how to respond to that. He could feel the mattress shifting and knew that Roxas must have been moving around behind him.

The blonde continued, voice calm and serious, "But...after not having my eyes for so long already I think I've sort've gotten to understand the importance of other things. ...I don't know if I really need someone with that much power to be my eyes for me."

"Roxas—" Axel stopped himself. "N-nevermind."

He waited just in case Axel really did want to say something, but then went on. "...With so many people going blind," he paused to let out a tiny laugh, "it's like being with other people has replaced that fifth sense. If anything I think it's taught me that what matters most is...trust." Dark lashes fluttered and trembled a bit when he contemplated opening his eyes, but instead Roxas just kept looking down at the blankets over his lap and kept them exposed to darkness.

...Axel, on the other hand, couldn't keep his eyes turned away from the boy for so long. He thought that if he were to lose his sight right then and there he would have panicked. Maybe he would have cried and maybe he would have questioned why it had to be happening to him. But in the back of his mind Axel knew that what Roxas was saying was true and that it was...admirable. If he lost his sight and suddenly his world fell to perpetual blackness, maybe instead he would have fallen to short silence...and smiled. Nothing would have changed and nothing would have gotten up and left him.

No, everything would be as it were and all he would have to do is pull the blankets over them and fall asleep. Roxas would still be beside him in the morning and maybe, just maybe, everything would still be the same.

A faint smile graced Axel's lips while he kept on staring at the younger boy sitting on the bed and it seemed that Roxas felt he was being stared at because he looked up and furrowed his brows, confused. "Axel?"

Axel's smile softened. "I'm right here, Rox."

The boy lightly scoffed. "I know. I can still feel your weight on the bed, you know."

"Then why'd you call me like that?"

"...I was just wondering if you had anything to say."

"...Just that I think you're right."

That earned another smile from the younger but unlike doing what Axel thought he would do after making a philosophical comment like that—which was crawl over to the pillows and get ready for bed—Roxas just sat there and stared, just stared at Axel with his eyes shut. And even shut like that the redhead could feel pupils boring into him, reading him, and making him feel so alive. Thinking it, he slowly moved closer to the center of the bed where Roxas was and sat cross-legged in front of him, leaving their cold toes to barely touch and their knees bumping against one another.

It was still cold, that was for sure, but sometimes, in the presence of someone else in this lonely, forgotten world, the winter would fade and everything else would disappear but warmth—it would take its place. From here, even in the shadows of the room, green eyes could see Roxas's chest moving in and out beneath his night shirt, and beneath that there was a heart pumping and beating just as his own.

"Deep down, you and I are exactly the same, I figure," Roxas said to which Axel twitched, surprised after having sat in the silence for so long. "We're still human. It's just that...you can see."

Again the redhead had nothing to say and for a while it felt as if Roxas was at a loss for words as well, but when he looked up and noticed that one of the blonde's fingers was raised outstretched to him, Roxas spoke again, this time posing a question.

"Can I see you?" Of course his first instinct was to tell the kid no, of course he couldn't, but now didn't seem the time for jokes. Instead, he scooted closer and closer still until the soft tips of Roxas's fingers made the bridge of his nose and his cheeks tingle and hum. He didn't understand his companion yet, but when Roxas's other hand reached out to do the same as the first, the pieces began to come together.

Slowly, as if he was handling something very fragile and delicate, Roxas began to trace his fingers along Axel's face, beginning at his jaw line where he gently cupped it before venturing from his forehead to his lips. At first it did feel a bit obscure, but soon the touches felt like whispers on his skin and Axel felt himself succumbing to them, muscles instinctively relaxing and face leaning in a bit closer to make things easier for Roxas to reach. He could feel the slight ridge from the healed over cut in Roxas's right palm, but it only increased his senses and made him pay attention.

After about a minute the blonde whispered, "You said you have red hair, right?"

Axel nodded which Roxas no doubt felt in the palms of his hands. The boy chuckled.

"You told me it was like a fire truck."

Axel chuckled a little as well, which made muscles pull and stretch and creases form at the corners of his mouth. Roxas paused to graze his thumb over one of the corners.

"Heh. You've got a huge smile," he said, softly. In return Axel's expression became much more...affectionate and he almost hated that Roxas wouldn't be able to see it. He wanted Roxas to know how much he appreciated him no matter if he could see or not. But Roxas couldn't learn from pictures held out before him; no, he had to create the pictures himself with a few hints and clues as his guides. So he let the boy continue to map out and memorize him as much as he felt necessary. Once a screaming, helpless, afraid boy lying on the side of the streets...now so gentle and mature...beside him. _Comfortable_.

Axel didn't know how much time had passed by the time Roxas's hands resettled on his jaw and his fingers held his face steady and securely. Time hardly mattered at all at this point...especially when the blonde parted his lips to speak one more time.

"You're beautiful...Axel."

And at that moment he figured that words, at least _his_ words, didn't matter either. Breathing and blinking, yes, even _seeing_ didn't matter to the redhead once those words slipped off of Roxas's tongue. Roxas had never seen him in this lifetime and there was little to no chance of it happening at all, so, naturally, he was surprised. Either Roxas had an incredible sense of touch or he was just saying that to flatter him. Still unable to form a coherent phrase, Axel pursed his lips and sat stone still in front of his companion who still had his hands cupping his face, holding him in the same distance, same place...and same trance.

Finally Roxas broke the silence again, this time moving both hands up so that his thumbs rested at the corners of Axel's eyes. "...Close your eyes for a sec."

He was a little embarrassed that the blonde had to speak up like that instead of him coming out with anything smart to say, but, trying not to contort his face which could have come off as rude to the kid, Axel relaxed his muscles, took a deep breath, and slowly shut his eyes, letting the dark lashes hit his skin and, as he could feel, the tips of Roxas's thumbs. He shivered at the sensitivity and how much stronger the feelings rushed into his body and even more so when he could feel each little whorl and ridge in the boy's fingerprints.

Axel had thought that the outside world had fallen relatively silent long ago, and yet, sitting here, his ears picked up the chirrup of crickets and the tinkling of wind chimes left to sing alone in the wind and abandoned upon front porches. With those sounds he could paint pictures of the streets...at night, in the daytime, filled with people...empty. Memories of himself and Reno walking down the sidewalks and passing joggers and people on their bicycles flooded his mind, but what hit him the hardest, what intensified the warmth in his chest to its highest degree, was the vision of smiling faces, and not just lips but _eyes_ and _bodies_.

Everyone smiled with everything they owned. Women holding their partner's arms and walking hip to hip, men waving hello to one another, children looking up and smiling and giggling at each other even though they might have been strangers—

What Axel saw was what his mind wanted to see. Most likely the images were over exaggerated and surreal, but because they were created with memories, well, they still held some truth to them. Thinking it, the redhead smiled and chuckled to which Roxas laughed. He might not have been able to see Axel, but he had an inkling as to what was flowing through that head of his—it was most likely what he had taught himself to do on days when he was alone and just beginning to adjust to this horrible fate.

Now, Axel would have left it at that and opened his eyes again after having his fill of _life_ as he wanted it to be, but instinct brought life to his hands which he slowly placed ahead of him and upon Roxas's face. The boy didn't even tremble at the move and sat perfectly still as if he were expecting it.

"See, when your eyes are closed," Roxas started, chuckling, "the other senses grow stronger."

It was a bit difficult to maneuver as easily as Roxas had done—Axel ended up close to poking the blonde in the eye—but Axel was sure that he was more aware of what he was doing now that he was submerged in total darkness. Gradually, fingers made their descent over the soft, less prominent jaw bones and over something...softer. A bit moist and smooth—

He told himself what they were almost immediately and Roxas—he didn't seem to mind it. Quietly, voice low and hinted with an under layer of..._affection_, Axel spoke.

"If I didn't know what you looked like, I would've said the same."

"Really?" Roxas asked while one of his hands lowered back down to rest at Axel's jaw. The other stayed put on his cheek to take in the amazing softness and heat emitting from beneath the skin. If he didn't know any better he would have guessed that Axel was blushing, but he tried not to mention it for the sake of keeping Axel comfortable.

The redhead hummed shortly in response and soon lightly calloused but placid hands drifted even lower to a place where Roxas hadn't touched on himself—his neck. Maybe if this were someone who didn't trust Axel they would have thought he was going to strangle them, but this was Roxas and he could _see_ straight through the other boy without needing machines, medication, or _vision_. In content the blonde released a sigh and willingly allowed Axel to pull his body closer to him, larger hands cupping the sides and back of his neck, the base of his jaw line—

"_Can you still see me...Roxas_?" he asked just a breath away from touching lips to which Roxas, again, sighed softly.

"Yeah..." he muttered and it was at that moment that his lashes flickered and twitched to life and his eyelids peeled half way to show off that brilliant blue beneath. Axel's own eyes—so vexed and _green_—stared back but he knew they wouldn't be open for very long. He'd grown too used to the darkness, _the blindness_, and the intensity of all his other senses.

Roxas moved upward to tentatively connect their mouths and it was...simple. He particularly liked the redhead's lower lip and the way it felt between his own. So plush, so supple...like biting into fruit. After a few seconds the younger pulled away, realizing that he had indeed liked it, and as if reading his thoughts the redhead pulled the boy against his body, fitting them together like puzzle pieces, so that they could kiss longer and _deeper_.

Roxas's mouth tasted like nothing he'd ever tasted before. Each brush of tongue against his own tingled and every inhale brought in that heavy scent of the kid that only grew stronger the longer his eyes were shut. Axel wanted more though he was willing to move slowly to find it. Like this they were both blind with eyes shut and having to rely on other things to keep themselves alert. Fingers were useful, which Axel learned Roxas liked having roll down the curve of his shoulders and the front of his chest.

Gracefully the blonde arched against Axel's palm and his hands quickly dove for the red mane of hair to card through the tufts and massage deeper into the scalp. "That feels good," he said, calm and breathy. Vitalized by that response, the redhead concentrated on the boy's chest for longer by dragging his palm hard over the nub he could feel beneath the material of Roxas's shirt and to this...Roxas mewled.

"_Axel_..."

Axel said nothing to that, though there was a part of him that felt like he had to. Why wasn't he responding? Well, maybe because he wanted to respond with actions instead. So he did, both hands now at Roxas's torso with one at the small of his back, holding him up for support, and the other inching beneath the bottom hem of the night shirt toward Roxas's chest. The body beneath felt so thin and young and even though Roxas was two years younger than himself, Axel would have easily mistaken him for a teenager with how much he'd shrunken over the years.

The disease had taken a toll on his appetite, but things were getting better; Roxas had gained ten pounds so far these last few months. He smiled into the slowing kiss when the blonde's stomach twitched and writhed to his touch—the kid was probably ticklish—and to keep things less agonizing he finally met with the bud he'd been teasing earlier and gently took it between two fingers, rolling it until it felt a little more perked than before.

Roxas had to pull away from the kiss to catch his breath and upon doing so his body bowed into the other, forehead resting on Axel's shoulder while his hands still clung onto his neck and back for balance. If Axel weren't holding him right now he was sure he would have collapsed and fallen right to the floor.

"Ah-ahhn," he huffed, assisting his partner by arching upward like a cat, in turn dragging their bodies against one another. "_I feel that_."

"Good." Axel ducked to secure his lips over a bit of skin on the side of the blonde's neck afterward and after feeling like his nipple had been treated enough he shifted over to give attention to the other, earning the same responses if not louder and heavier than before. "...Can you feel it here, too?" As he said it he was only a centimeter away from Roxas's neck and slowly the hand that had been under the blonde's shirt travelled lower to cup the material between his legs.

...Roxas gasped. Soft, not overly done—_soft_. "Oh..._y-yeah_." Roxas hadn't felt that sensation in a long time since he fell blind. His body didn't feel ready for pleasure just yet and though he did feel revved up inside on some occasions when he would sit, letting his mind wander, he had never touched himself. He felt that if he really wanted to experience something _great_ again, then he would need hands to re-introduce him. It wasn't using Axel, no; it was inviting him into his world...in return for all the direction he'd gotten through Axel's.

Axel gently kissed the blonde's neck again, though not hard enough to leave a mark or anything because it was not in his intention to hurt him or brand him like he _owned_ him. Roxas owned himself. Simultaneously, heated hands continued to grope the growing bulge beneath those baggy sweatpants and it wasn't until Roxas threw his head back to moan into his ear that Axel noticed how aroused he had become as well.

...And all this time he still hadn't opened his eyes.

"_Roxas_," he gasped into the other's ear in return. Roxas bucked and suddenly Axel found himself being pulled down onto the mattress, Roxas beneath him and squirming to get into the proper position for them to keep going. At this he _had _to open his eyes because combined with the vertigo of changing positions so quickly and the simple image of Roxas sprawled, Axel's curiosity soared. Could Roxas still see him? With the question floating in his mind, he leaned his head down beside the shell of the blonde's ear and went back to massaging him, pushing and pulling.

"Can you still see me?"

Roxas nodded. "Don't worry. I still do."

Life felt like it was speeding up and slowing down in parts and Axel, before he knew it, had helped to peel Roxas's clothes away from his body, leaving him naked...and so beautiful against the grey bed sheets. His eyes devoured him and Axel's hungriness transferred into his movements—his lips began to venture to other areas on Roxas's body, kissing and sucking and leaving open mouthed trails of breath up and down his ribs. Tiny bumps formed in his wake and he felt them...every last one.

"_Hn...Axel..._"

...The redhead moved lower, passing the taut stomach and bellybutton which he dipped into once just for a taste. Finally, when he was beside the pulsating length he gave the head a soft kiss before parting his lips and taking in the blonde as much as he could, not minding whenever Roxas would buck and nearly strike the narrow constriction of his throat. _It felt too good it felt too good it felt too good_—

Smaller hands glided over his body, purposely teasing himself, before the fingers became tangled in his partner's hair. Roxas could feel every push and pull and every last second of attention Axel lavished him with. Slurping sounds reverberated off the walls and back to his ears to combine with the drawling groans and gasps he emitted into the air. With the heater off the room still felt cold, but that would be a problem later. Not now. _Not now_. _He could still see everything_.

A few more gasps and groans were released; Roxas purred, Axel hummed, wind chimes rang, and if Roxas was hearing right he could hear the lone, sorrowful howl of a dog in the distance. ...He hadn't heard one of those in years.

It wasn't long before both bodies were bare, dark and slick with a thin layer of sweat which made moving that much easier, but colder. Roxas shuddered—out of delight and coldness. Axel was above him and he could imagine the lithe body arching and flexing, those fire engine red locks of his bouncing and swaying to the rhythm between their bodies, and even if it was all in his imagination Roxas took great pleasure in the visions and groaned for Axel, _called_ for him to come closer. Thin arms reached up and hooked around the redhead's neck, pulling him closer, and Axel obliged, afterward pulling the boy's legs up and apart from one another so that they could hook around his waist.

"I-inside me," Roxas whispered, voice eerie and haunting.

"I don't want to hurt you." Roxas thought the same of Axel's voice.

The blonde nuzzled his nose against his partner's neck and took in a deep breath, taking in that scent of hospital wards and earthy, city winters. The visions persisted. He saw the two of them in the street, watching each other on opposite sides while snow fell and the sun shined. He pictured a tingling warmth in the pit of his stomach and giggled, just a little, when it tickled...just a little.

Axel had grown used to the pauses from the other and he knew that at those times Roxas was probably picturing things he liked. He never knew what, but if he had to guess, well, it must have been...happy. So, smiling gently, the redhead sighed, burying his face into Roxas's shoulder, and pushed. Roxas whimpered and managed a choked gasp.

"..._Axel_..._yes_."

Axel didn't care that Roxas couldn't see with his eyes and pinpoint parts of his body with exact precision. What the boy was doing to him now was all he truly cared about. He maintained a slow pace at first, rocking the mattress beneath them against the floor, and once the blonde's outcries became heavy and more frequent, Axel rushed forward. More, more,_ more_, until he'd find that spot deep inside of the blonde that would make his visions blank out; turn snow white.

A few more angles, _just a few more_, and he could feel the coil in his stomach about ready to spring. Roxas screamed louder, though not in pain. Blunt nails digging into Axel's back, the boy held onto him as if for dear life and clenched his muscles around the throbbing length to increase the friction.

"_Axel_," he whispered, "_Axel...!_"

Was that it? Was that the spot? The redhead didn't realize that he'd had his eyes shut until he opened them to turn and stare at what he could see of Roxas's face. He was flushed and so brilliant...but what struck a chord in his heart were those eyes and how, even glossed over with unshed tears and narrowed to slits, they managed to illuminate the darkness. That in itself was enough for Axel's body to succumb to cold release, though he did well to slide himself out of the younger and come into his hand to prevent any messes.

"Did you—?"

"Y-yeah," Axel hissed, tired and overwhelmed though he tried to control himself even while squeezing the tip to milk out whatever he had left. "You?"

Roxas was silent. He hadn't. And when Axel went over to ask him why the boy merely shook his head and smiled, eyes still shining though very exhausted.

"Just kinda tired..." he said, shifting on the mattress. Axel couldn't help but flush, but then he laughed, amused.

"You sure nothin' was wrong?"

Again the blonde shook his head and reached up until his arms wrapped around the redhead's neck. "Let's sleep," he said, quiet, while trying to pull Axel back down on him. Although Axel felt a little bad that Roxas hadn't reached the same conclusion as himself, he had to understand that with the sickness brought fatigue, and that maybe it was unfair to want something that Roxas couldn't give. Maybe someday that would change, but for now...he was happy. Maybe not completely satisfied...but happy.

And on that thought he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Annnnnnnnnnd I have Lady Gaga music stuck in my head. Fantastic.**

**_M-M-MY TELEPHONE,  
kokoro77_**


	3. Part Three: Optic

**Author's Note: So aside from me ending up leaving on an unexpected road trip for a few days, my laptop decided that it didn't want some of the keys to function properly and that it also didn't want to _charge_ properly. Having said that: THAT IS WHY THIS FUCKING CHAPTER IS HERE SO LATE. raeg.**

**BUT YES. Sorry about that, guys. orz Technical difficulties, but now the third and final installment of this ficlet is up and running. I apologize for the delay!**

* * *

Eyes || Part Three  
"Optic"

Axel came to realize that having sex with Roxas became the time when they were most intimate with one another and the reason for this he could easily figure out: Roxas liked to take his time to feel and with that came built up tension and arousal. It might have been a strange topic to be thinking about over breakfast...or lunch...or even while switching out IV bags in a patient's room, but the redhead couldn't help but wonder about it. He'd learned something the first time they'd had sex and that was that he didn't necessarily need his eyes in order to enjoy what he wanted to enjoy.

...Of course Reno thought it was all a lie when Axel decided to fess up.

"Pff, what?" the older male sputtered, nearly slamming down his coffee mug on the glass table. "R-run that by me," cough, "again?"

Axel rubbed at his temples, feeling heat rising to the tips of his ears, and started again, this time making his voice sound much more serious.

"We had sex."

"No, no, _after_ that. What'd you say?"

"It felt good."

"_After that_."

Flatly, since he wasn't very amused with Reno's tone, "It feels better with your eyes closed." And to that his brother ceased to rub at his throat so that he could look him straight in the eye, crimson bangs shielding one of his eyes when he tilted his head at an angle. Reno's apartment wasn't exactly what one would call home sweet home, but, regardless, Axel still felt comfortable enough in an environment in which the floor could barely be seen, so he'd learned to ignore it. Yes, even when his brother would look at him like _that_ he still felt...normal here.

For a long while, actually, Axel felt like Reno was the only person in the world that could see him.

After some minutes of giving his brother a measured look, Reno released a sigh and traced the rim of his mug with an index finger. "No kidding," he commented, almost despondent, staring into the cup.

Axel leaned back in his chair and glanced out the window of Reno's living room. The glass was beginning to fog around the edges and outside the darkness was thick. No street lights were on, no traffic lights, no windows. The city really had become barren.

He rested his elbow on one of the armrests of the couch when he spoke up again, voice clearly tired. It had been another long day at work, and he really shouldn't have decided to clock out early—about twenty minutes or so—but thankfully it was easy to get out of the hospital when the weather called for snow. The world may have been insensitive and harsh, but that didn't mean all people had to follow its example.

"...You ever feel lonely, Reno?"

To that Reno laughed...and with a softness his brother hadn't heard in a long while, responded, "All the time, man."

xxXXxx

...Time was frozen. Just like the streets and naked trees weighed down by blankets of white, never trembling, never making a sound...time was unmoving.

He was sure that his heart was still beating and his lungs...still breathing. And yet with everything happening at once...Roxas couldn't concentrate on his body any longer. He felt elated and afraid; like he could fly but if he tried he would fall through millions of miles of endless sky. The coolness of snow touching his lashes stung the slightest bit but in reaction to his body the water came and slid down his cheeks like makeshift tears.

No, he wasn't crying. But...Roxas could have. _Because the sight before him was too beautiful_.

The sight of a deserted, untouched street, white, black and, grey smattered across it—a picture perfect winter scene—was actually sitting in front of him and with those infamously blue eyes the blonde unblinkingly watched..._everything_. The snow no longer whispered and the wind no longer made his hair brush against his face. No, everything had a face.

After so long everything had a face.

Illuminated by the glow of the freshly fallen snow Roxas stood in nothing but his pajama bottoms at the bottom steps of the apartment complex, his face directed upward at the falling flakes on their descent to earth. He didn't care that his bare feet were falling numb or that the pain was spiking up his legs; all he cared about was if this was real or not. All it took was a spot of red—_fire engine red_—to prove that he wasn't dreaming.

"...Roxas?" The voice called out, only this time it wasn't just a voice. The voice also had a face. _And it was beautiful_.

Roxas didn't say a thing. As if worried by that the footsteps carried on through the untouched snow, disturbing it, and leaving trails...all of which he could see. Within a few seconds the redhead was standing beside him, looking down at him, worried and breath making puffs of smoke escape into the air.

Axel took a second to catch his breath before speaking up again, hoping that Roxas would actually hear him this time. "Hey, what the hell d'you think you're doin' out here, man?" He quickly took hold of the blonde's arm and placed the other at his back in that all too familiar procedure. Roxas...smiled. "C'mon," Axel started, turning both of them toward the stairs, "let's go."

"Axel."

"What?"

"...You weren't lying."

"Huh?" The taller man continued walking. He still had to get the kid out of the damn snow. But. A step before they reached the stairs the blonde turned, facing him, slipping out of the hold, and suddenly placed both of his hands on either side of Axel's head. Then...he smiled. Wide.

"...Your hair is pretty damn red."

From there all Axel could do was stare. Speechless. Dumbfounded. ...Happy.

xxXXxx

They spent the next few days staring at each other and flipping through outdated magazines. Watching reruns of episodes of this and that, browsing through maps of states they'd never been to, looking out the window, browsing through Axel's closet of clothes he hadn't worn in months—

And every so often the boy would cry.

xxXXxx

Roxas wanted to see everything and it took a lot of strength to get the boy to stay still once in a while. Roxas wanted to see the world. He wanted to go to the beach on Alkai and see the sun rise and set every day. He wanted to go to the once crowded parking lot of the super mall down the street and lay down while the stars danced overhead. Even if there would be snow and even if they had to walk, the blonde was willing to expose his eyes to all he'd missed in the years he was blind. ...Axel wished more than anything that he could have granted that wish, but Roxas's health took precedence over all else. His immunity no doubt was still weak and Axel didn't know if Roxas would even keep his sight forever.

What if while watching the sunrise his vision would suddenly disappear just as his sister's had? Thinking it left a vile taste on the tip of Axel's tongue—as if he'd been sucking on a raw penny all day—but despite not wanting to think about it, he knew that he had to consider it still. Maybe that was why, while Roxas engaged himself in this and that, laughed and reacted to his heart's desire, all he could do was watch and smile...

But. Right now, Axel could do nothing but express his anger.

"I have to see her!" Roxas argued to which Axel once again scowled and pounded a fist against a nearby wall. They were standing in the hallway leading to the front door, Axel acting as a blockade between his companion and the door, preventing exit.

The redhead shook his head. "I told you that you can't. How many times do I have to tell you?"

Roxas gestured forward with his arms. "I'm fine! I can see, right? If I go, nothing's gonna happen to me!"

"Roxas, I don't care. I don't wanna risk that."

"Axel, I—!"

"_No_, Roxas! I'm not letting you go to the goddamn hospital!"

Towards that the blonde let out a short yell towards the ceiling and ended up directing a kick against the wall to his left. It numbed his foot, shooting a pain up to his waist, but he ignored it in favor of letting his anger flow. Axel didn't understand. He _knew _that the two siblings hadn't seen each other in three years, so why couldn't he grant Roxas this one favor? Fingers clenched into fists, the blonde shot a glare away from Axel and then turned on his heel to storm back into the living room, leaving the redhead with his arms crossed and feet planted firmly on the ground.

With a sigh he added, searching for some deal he could close this with, "I can still let you talk to her on the phone like always."

Immediately Roxas shot back. "That's not good enough!"

"Well, I don't exactly have a computer on me to make video chat possible either, y'know. Those things're hard to come by right now."

Roxas scoffed loudly. "Whatever."

Taking that as a sign of resignation, the redhead uncrossed his arms and then headed into the kitchen to stop by the fridge and pop it open to look for something to calm his nerves. With a quick glance around he could already tell that they were running low on soda and milk. He'd have to find time to make it to the store tomorrow before his shift, or he could have always stopped by Reno's apartment to borrow some from the stock in his second fridge. Contemplating all this as usual, Axel eventually decided to take out the last can of root beer—Roxas wasn't partial to it anyway—before shutting the door closed with his elbow and heading out to step into the living room.

He wasn't one to let his and the kid's arguments linger for longer than a couple hours, and even if that meant that he had to be the guy to settle the score, then so be it. There was just...a twinge in his stomach that would form each time he and Roxas would break into some petty fight, and at this time in his life the last thing he was sure both of them did not need was to be alone. Can in hand, the redhead walked into the room expecting to see the television set on, even the bookshelf being raided and put out of order like Roxas liked to do just to piss him off, but instead...Roxas was nowhere to be seen.

"..._Fuck_," he grated out, fingers squeezing the soda can minimally. Axel turned back toward the front door again and sure enough the locks were undone and footsteps could be heard pattering down the hallway. "Roxas, do _not_ start this with me, man!" And with that he followed after the other, ditching the soda on the floor and not even bothering to shut the door behind him. By the time he was out in the hallway the sun was beginning to set and cast a lazy orange hue over the red carpet, in turn making their shadows elongated and distorted upon the building walls.

Axel watched his shadow run ahead of him and though it might have caught up with his companion countless times he knew that he was still behind and that Roxas was still not within his grasp. He watched while the blonde made it to the stairway and down, out into the streets and around the nearest corner to head in the direction of the hospital. Axel wasn't entirely sure on if Roxas was fully confident in his sense of direction since regaining his sight, and that alone was enough incentive for him to pick up the pace.

It wasn't like the staff would allow Roxas inside anyway, now that he thought about it. This was all tedious running, _stupid_ running, and Axel was willing to bet that Roxas knew the same. But regardless..._he ran_. Faster and faster, further and further until surely his lungs were about to leap out of his chest. Puffs of air escaped from between his lips while he ran in the still freezing cold and although it hadn't snowed recently, the streets and sidewalks remained under icy conditions, leaving them completely susceptible to slipping in this chase.

...It didn't seem like Roxas cared.

Even as he crossed the street, even as he glanced back to see if he was still being followed, even as he fumbled and tripped and regained his balance...Roxas didn't seem to care. _Getting away, getting anywhere..._

...Nowhere.

Axel was on one end of the pedestrian crosswalk when suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Roxas stopped running directly in the center of the crosswalk. The walking man on the signal across the way was still lit—cheery and bright as ever by anyone's standards—and yet...something about him seemed insignificant today. Something about that color reflected in his eyes and blended with the retrograde sunlight...seemed very pale. Lost. _Gone_.

His breathe was coming in short gasps while he eyed Roxas's back amongst the dying colors. In the stillness their bodies were so alive...and yet with the way the younger stood there Axel was almost convinced he was dead. It was a familiar sight, and one that left his heart detached from his body.

"...Roxas?" he asked as he had always done time after time after time.

...What was he seeing? What was he thinking? Why was it that when a slowing car began to pass and the crosswalk signal tinted red, all the boy could do was stand and curiously hold a hand out before him so that nothing but the very tips of his fingers grazed against the cold metal of the car's windows and doors? Axel could see the driver behind the wheel sparing the blonde a glance, confused, possibly frightened, but figuring that nothing in this world was to be expected anymore, they just looked away and drove on, leaving nothing behind but the coldness and tingling on Roxas's fingertips.

...Roxas fell to the ground.

"Roxas!" Instantly Axel was beside him, kneeled with hands planted on either side of the boy's head. He stared and he waited, called out to the blonde and shook his shoulders, but all Roxas would do was stare straight above him, coldly and unblinking. ...Axel unfortunately recognized that stare. He knew it. He—

"Axel," Roxas started in a low, eerie voice which brought the redhead out of his momentary stupor.

"Yeah?"

"...Watch the stars with me."

"What?"

"Please."

...It then occurred to him that Roxas's sight was stolen.

Axel felt weights pressing down on his body at all angles and threatening to destroy him. He felt his eyes growing heavy with tears and his chest overflowing with a bitter cocktail of emotions—rage, sadness, animosity. But in the end...all he could do was bite the tip of his tongue and gradually, slowly, _longingly_, lower his head until his and Roxas's foreheads were pressed together. Like this they could share much more than just their presence.

Like this...they shared each other's being.

"We'll have to wait for them to come out," he said, eventually opening his eyes before settling on the cold asphalt beside Roxas. Their hands were flat against the pavement, palms turned upward and skin tingling with anticipation.

The blonde hummed. "They're already out."

Axel turned to look at him, perplexed, and this Roxas seemed to feel between the mere centimeters of distance their bodies shared.

"_Close your eyes_," he whispered.

...And Axel did, understanding.

So with their backs against the road, nerves numbing in the cold, colors vibrant against the glow of the sun...in their blindness they watched the stars.

Roxas didn't need to see everything. He just needed...to see things a little bit at a time.

"_Roxas, can you see me?_"

"_I always will._"

* * *

**If you did not guess, this fanfic is ONE. BIG. METAPHOR. If it confuses you, _that is the point_, but I do hope you will be able to understand the message I was trying to pull through. Care to share your theories? I always find them interesting. :3**

**Well, thanks for sticking it out with me on another bouncy journey. I've got a few other fics that need to be updated as well as a few other oneshots that I need to edit and get up. Please be on the look out for them! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and as always, thank you for continuing to be my number one inspiration.**

**_I only have eyes for you,  
kokoro77_  
**


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